Patriots' key to success: they know their job, and they do it.(NFL)(New England Patriots)

The Patriots amaze me. Not like the 49ers of Joe Montana and Jerry Rice amazed me, or any other team that was blessed with top stars. The Patriots amaze me because they are so ridiculously efficient.

This is a team that makes very few mistakes. It drops punts out of hounds inside the 10. It protects against the onside kick. It runs screen plays as well as any team I've ever seen. It wraps up on tackles. The Patriots' level of efficiency should be the envy of every assembly line in the world because each man does his job with precision, craftsmanship and attention to detail.

It isn't always dazzling. Though quarterback Tom Brady had another great Super Bowl, his numbers won't make much of a dent in the record book. But his throws were accurate. Wide receiver Deion Branch had a monster game, and as usual, Brady was not intercepted.

You know who defines the Patriots as well as Brady? Randall Gay. Gay was a rookie free agent who became a starter when Ty Law, a Pro Bowl cornerback, broke his foot in Week 8. The Eagles went after him, as they should have, yet he played so well it might as well have been Law out there. Gay perfectly defended each ball in the air.

And how about the rest of the secondary? Asante Samuel continued to play well in the absence of Tyrone Poole, and New England even had to play the second half without starting safety Eugene Wilson, a great hitter who injured his shoulder. Rookie Dexter Reid, ...